John Bridger, executive director for the RPA, presented an overview of the 83-page study and suggested Chattanooga form a Housing Task Force and put policies into place that would encourage livable, safe, and affordable housing for current and future residents of the city.

The presentation shared that an average Chattanoogan has $620 per month for rent, but the average rent in Chattanooga is $732.

Walnut Commons is an apartment complexes in the works, but despite several new apartment buildings going up around downtown, officials say there is a shortage of affordable housing in the downtown region. The average Chattanoogan has $620 per month for rent, but the average monthly rent in Chattanooga is $732.

“Sixty or 70 percent of households that make less than $30,000 are spending more than 30 percent on housing, which is considered, that’s over what’s recommended nationally,” said Bridger.

The city’s overlay zone is the area consisting of neighborhoods between Missionary Ridge and the Tennessee River.

The study showed that current multiple listing services (MLS) listings show only 325 properties in the downtown zone are priced at $100,000 or less. Two hundred homes are listed in the $75,000 or less range, failing to meet demand.

The RPA reported that the majority of people who make less than $20,000 a year live downtown even with a lack housing options.

City Council Chair Pam Ladd stressed that, in order for future housing initatives to be successful, additional elements besides facilities would need to be taken into consideration, specifically the livability and economy of a development.

“You’ve got to make sure the housing that we have available for low income has all the other elements of success: transportation, grocery stores, schools,” Ladd said. “It’s got to be a tighter environment.”